I Found My Home
by Lula6791
Summary: Set after Midnight, AU. - A little tale about the inner transformation of the vampire who took everything no questions asked. He learn how to be truly brave. Emotions and feelings are not too bad After all. "There's a thread that runs between us pulling 'cross this great divide, it's only there for the believers don't stop believing, don't stop believing..." Bon Jovi


**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I don't own VD-neither the books nor the TV version. I don't gain any profits from this. This writing is just for fun. The amazing characters are from L.J. Smith, CW and Alloy Entertainment, but I do claim my original characters.

**A/N/Warning:** Again this is a Bamon. It seems I can't help it... Anyway this is a Bamon and it set some time in the future. You can say after Midnight or after the planned L.J. Smith version of The Hunters Trilogy. Well I'm using the few details L.J. Smith let us know on her website.

I'm so so so sorry for the grammar mistakes. I hope you'll like this little one-shot.

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**"I found my home..."**

_"There's a thread that runs between us pulling 'cross this great divide, __it's only there for the believers don't stop believing, don't stop believing..." ~ Lyrics from The Distance, Bon Jovi_

_"It's hard for me to say the things I want to say sometimes. There's no one here but you and me and that broken old street light. Lock the doors leave the world outside. All I've got to give to you are these five words and I: Thank you for loving me..." ~ Lyrics from Thank you For Loving Me, Bon Jovi_

_"Let me go home. I've had my run, Baby, I'm done. I gotta go home, let me go home. It will all be all right. I'll be home tonight. I'm coming back home..." ~ Lyrics from Home, Michael Bubble_

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Many years have passed since the last adventures of our group of heroes had survived them. As any natural process the teenagers went to college, some got married and others just drifted apart seeking for answers and trying to find their purpose in life.

The vampire brothers kept their posts beside the blonde beauty. She wasn't a vampire but at a critical time of their uncommon journey she drank some of the eternal youth water. The same water she surreptitiously got and nobody had any idea she had it.

Basically they have this strange peace and happiness between them. The brothers knew she loved them both. It was a different kind of love but it was love nonetheless. During college the blonde beauty tried to be with the older brother. It was what her body and soul wanted and she cherished their intimate moments. It was good and exhilarating but her strong nature needed some soothing force with her. She discovered that her heart wanted to return to the youngest brother.

And that was what she did...

The untamed nature of the older brother and his broken heart kept him travelling all around. From time to time he returned to keep in touch. Because regardless of any sarcastic comment he uttered or the concrete walls he erected surrounding his heart he needed to know and see his beloved ones. His brother and his impossible love were the most important people for him and he had this intrinsic necessity to check if they were still alive.

With time his heart accepted the reality between them. It was the right thing to do because they would live eternity together. He began the process to learn how to love her as a sister. That's why he kept travelling all around the world revisiting countries that he had visited centuries ago. When he wanted some excitement and provoke a brawl he would travel to the Dark Dimension. After all vampires were first class citizens in that dimension and it was a change that his soul from time to time crave.

He long ago understood not to question his craves, wants and instincts. In one of those visits to his old pal Sage he received a surprise. He didn't like surprises, in fact he hated them. It was rare that those kind of uncontrolled and unexpected events brought something good. Usually someone dies because of them. It was a pessimistic point of view. He knew it, but too many years he had received surprises and very few were good.

His friend had a guest. When he entered Sage's abode he received a well know scent. It was impossible because she left for college and never returned to Fells Church. The last time he checked on her she seemed somewhat happy. She had a boyfriend and he, in a rare action, wished for her happiness. He had toyed with her to get the blonde beauty jealous and he acknowledged he did wrong. Because she was a precious human. A human who needed care and protection. He even sacrificed his life for her and even today he didn't regret it.

He didn't utter any words to anyone. He ignored his host and walked after the familiar scent. He found her in the garden. She was on a bench and she was surrounded with unique flowers and the scarce trees that were capable to grow in the Dark Dimension. She looked like an earth fairy. Her eyes were closed and her hands moved continuously. She was weaving magic around her and he perceived with his vampire sight the slight changes on the flowers and trees. In a way she was giving life to nature in a dimension where death was the rule. Her magic made those flowers and trees to look like any garden on earth in the middle of spring. It was a beautiful sight.

He stood there watching her. So many questions appeared in his mind in mere seconds. Why? How? What? When?

He perceived a difference emanating from her. He felt her powers. She was stronger than before. Her aura felt stronger. She no longer was the child woman. Now she was a woman in all the significance of that word.

Again the pestering questions. Why? How? What? When? He wanted to know and yet he didn't want to disturb her. He was enthralled by the magic show in front of him. He just kept drinking in the beautiful sight.

She stopped moving her hands.

"Are you going to keep staring at me?"

Her sing-song voice reached him and snapped him out of the trance. He didn't move. He didn't want to.

"No"

"It's good to meet someone from the past. Right?"

"It depends."

"As always you're right. Damon." A little smile formed on her lips. She hasn't opened her eyes and he was wondering why.

"Sage is coming. He's worried."

"About what?"

"About you, Damon."

She didn't say anything else. Seconds later Sage appeared.

"Damon?"

He turned around and looked at his long time friend.

"Why she's here?"

"You know... I'm still here and I can hear you both talking about me. Maybe you should ask the questions to me, Damon."

"I'll leave you two to sort everything. Bonnie if you need anything you know what to do."

"Yes I do. Thank you Sage."

She stood up and walked around the garden. Touching the flowers she had just beautified.

"Redbird why are you here?"

"I hate to admit I had missed that pet name. Well I had missed any of your pet names, Damon."

She didn't answer his question but she made him smirk a little. He wasn't a guy who smile easily. He usually smirked. He knew that, but during the process of trying to heal his broken heart he had forgotten how to smirk. Redbird with a simple sentence returned to him his typical smirk.

"You didn't answer, Redbird."

She let out a little sigh.

"I guess I need to answer."

He kept silent. He wanted to probe her mind so much, but something kept telling him not to do it.

"Damon... You know that my psychic abilities kept growing. Honoria Fell had warned me about that. It was a cryptic warning and I didn't fully comprehend her words. I knew I had accepted the responsibilities and consequences of keeping my gifts. And from time to time I felt I had helped all of you. I always wondered if any of you notice my help..."

She caressed another flower. And he wondered if her hands were soft to touch.

"I knew when you came up to check on me. And I want to say; thank you. At least I know someone from time to time had thought about me. I know I'm guilty of not contacting Elena and Meredith. I'm an ungrateful friend... At least I feel like that. I had a good reason, though... Damon, my visions came stronger and faster than ever. I was losing my mind, Damon. I was continually watching the past or future of any person near me. It was a nightmare until..."

He moved nearer her. He touched her hair. She no longer had the curls. Now she had soft waves. In the reddish light her hair looked subdued. He didn't like that. He kept touching it and she kept talking.

"The last time you checked up on me... It was the first time I tried to be with someone. I picked him because I couldn't see anything about him. He was a blank spot and a realm of peace for me. I was so wrong..."

She shuddered a little. He sensed the fear in her. His protective instincts kicked in and he embraced her. She let him and he was relieved that she let him comfort her. It was a strange notion for him. He didn't comfort anyone, but she inspired him to do it. He didn't know why, though.

"He wanted my especial sight ability, Damon. He wanted to rip apart my gift from me. I don't know how he found me or how he was capable to be so... blank. I was so worried about losing my mind that I held to the only place I could be me without seeing anything. I wanted to be with Elena and talk to her about my never ending visions but I couldn't. I was so afraid to see her dying again. I knew I couldn't bear with it... He knew how to play me. Well... I'm usually an easy prey. Right, Damon?"

He flinched a little. He knew what she was talking about. He always kept the faintest hope that she never didn't figure out his actions toward her. He honestly wanted to believe she never discovered that he toyed with her.

"The day I stopped feeling your presence he took me on a date. He took me to a rundown park. We weren't alone. I sensed the creatures near us. In a second he revealed his true nature. He wasn't a blank creature. He had a dark, cruel past and his future was worse. I saw all of that in seconds. It stunned me and it almost knocked me out. I cried for help. I screamed so hard. I had hoped that you were near."

He felt guilty. He went to discover if she was all right. He left her well and alive. He did his job but still he felt guilty. That was an emotion he didn't like. He didn't do guilt or remorse feelings.

"The monsters... I don't know how to call them. They must come from a different dimension because in our voyages through the Dark Dimension I'd never seen them or felt their power. My date grabbed me and another creature grabbed my head. A female version of those creatures came. She didn't have eyes. She only had the empty sockets."

His heart constricted. He had an idea of what she was about to tell.

"She did magic on me. It felt like someone was ripping my eyes out. I kept screaming in every single way. My mind was in overdrive and when I realized that no one would come in time. I did the only thing I was capable to do. I protected my gift. I constructed walls around it. I constructed my walls like yours. I put my heart and soul protecting my gift. I don't know how I did it. I just did."

"Redbird?" She ignored him and continued her tale.

"Eventually Sage found me. He gave me some of his blood. His blood is so powerful and different. He is a very special vampire. When I drank his blood I knew he didn't share his blood with anybody. The nature of the attack was too different, strange and powerful that he knew only a powerful being could save me. He was the only one near me. So he did it. Up until today I don't know what really happen. The irony of my ability to see the past or the feature is that I can see it about any other people or creature but I can't see my future. I couldn't foresee the attack."

"Redbird?"

"His blood saved me and unlocked my gift. You just witnessed some of my magic."

He turned her. Now she was facing him. He gently lifted up her head. Now was easy to see her delicate features. She still had her eyes closed.

"Redbird, open your eyes."

"Are you sure, Damon?"

"Redbird, open your eyes."

She complied with his request. She slowly opened her eyes. Now he understood what she meant about the attack. She didn't have empty sockets but her eyes were blank. Those creatures made her blind in the natural sense. He immediately missed her expressive brown and sometime hazel eyes. He gently touched her eyelids.

"I'm sorry"

He said those words without thinking. Very few occasions in his life he had said those two words. Only Elena and his brother had received those words. She scowled a little. Another smirk appeared on his lips. She still had her usual traits.

"For what?"

"For not... Saving you." She pushed him a little and he relented. He let her go. She resumed her stroll through the garden.

"Damon it's impossible for you to be in two places at the same time. I don't blame you. I'm grateful enough that Sage found me after the attack. I was dying. I still can see. I already told you that I constructed walls around my gift. I constructed them like your walls surrounding your heart. That I learned it from you. In a way you save my power."

"Redbird, why?"

"I don't know why they wanted my gift. And honestly I don't want to know. Since the attack I'm under Sage's protection and therefore I'm under Sage's father protection. I know you know who's Sage father is?"

"Yes, I know."

"That's why I'm living here in the Dark Dimension. Sage father appointed him as my protector and now I can't go anywhere without him"

He felt an indescribable tug in his heart. He identified it as jealousy. Like the guilt and remorse feelings he didn't do jealousy. At least he didn't want to recognize he felt those emotions.

"I knew that someday you would come. I saw it in Sage's future."

"Did Sage know?"

"I don't tell anything about my visions unless someone asks about them."

"Redbird?"

She turned around and once again she was facing him. She closed her eyes again.

"Open your eyes."

"Why? I know they are not a beautiful sight."

"I don't care. Open them."

She did as requested. He stared at those two blank eyes. He probed with his powers and discovered she could see. In a different way but still she could see. That's why she was walking without any guidance. It was true what she had said about how Sage's blood unlocking her powers. He then understood this was meant to be. She was meant to live here in the Dark Dimension. She was meant to see in ways that a mere mortal couldn't. He admired her more than ever.

"I will protect you too."

"Damon, you don't have to."

"I know. I'll always protect you Redbird."

She nodded her acceptance and he felt relief.

Damon stayed with Sage and Redbird. He grew closer more than ever with the Little Bird and he didn't notice how his heart healed. One day he discovered that he couldn't let her go. The time in the Dark Dimension was different and it was affecting her. He knew what he needed to do.

He went to Fells Church to visit his brother and his impossible love. He relished the moment he saw the blonde beauty because his heart didn't scream in pain. He only stayed a couple of hours. He asked Elena if she still had some of the eternal youth water.

She did have it but she didn't relinquish it to him. She wanted to see her long lost friend and she wanted to give the water to her. He grudgingly accepted so he returned to the Dark Dimension with his brother and the legendary heroine in any of the Dark Dimension's human slave's tales. After all this time Elena still represented hope to those lost humans.

The encounter was a bit dramatic. They hugged and tears were spilled. The vampires kept their distance. They let them have their privacy. The friends talked and talked. They reconciled and healed some of their wounds. Eventually Elena gave Redbird part of the water.

Damon watched the process. Sage was a bit concerned because he understood the little psychic wasn't a full blooded human anymore. He didn't have a clear idea what could be the effects of the water on her.

Redbird drank and immediately fell to the ground. Elena yelled for help but he was already picking up the Little Bird. Now she was in his arms. He felt her heart. It was beating stronger than before. Her complexion returned to the pick of her beauty. She looked young and full of life.

"Redbird, open your eyes."

She did it. Her eyes were still blank but he could sense a tiny change in her. She like Elena had the glow of life running through her. More than ever she was captivating. At that moment he understood the real reason he couldn't allow her to wither away. The Dark Dimension time was affecting her and she was getting old fast. He felt she didn't have a lot of time and he went to his brother and to Elena to ask for help. It was the first time he asked for help and he didn't regret it. He was thankful because they helped him.

They understood before him that he was doing it not only to save her, but because his heart couldn't afford to lose her too.

The time they spent together under Sage's watchful eyes made them closer. His care for her grew and changed. Now she was his friend and more. He discovered he was hers and he wanted her to be his.

He didn't think logically. He, for the first time in a long period of subsequent events, adventures, fights, and even death, followed his emotions and feelings.

He kissed her like he never kissed her before. The difference was earth shattering. Before he was playing with her and who didn't like to receive the attentions of a beautiful maiden. But now he meant it and he felt her response to it.

An indescribable joy invaded his system. He understood now what his brother felt for Elena. He felt like a little boy dancing and playing without any care in the world.

Now Redbird was an eternal being. She wasn't a vampire so she kept the enticing traits of a live creature. Her warmth was still with her and he craved it. After all this time he hadn't drunk from her. In a way he respected her too much. At some times he assumed he didn't drink from her because she was more like a child.

Now he wondered why he was so foolish. He had learned that everything happened for a reason and maybe his gut knew more than he wanted to give credit for. She wasn't ready then and he also wasn't ready too.

Their story needed time to develop. Their connection was like the drop of water falling from the cave ceiling. With hundreds of years and millions of drops of water falling to the cave ground they can form a mighty, natural and strong column holding the ceiling and uniting the cave ground with it. That strong and solid build time was essential for them.

Both of them didn't notice the privacy their friends had gave them. They left them alone in the garden.

"You can drink."

Those three words made him to snap out of his reverie.

"Are you sure?"

"Why would I not give my blood to you? I want you to drink from me."

And he did what she asked him to do.

They surrounded by the strange beauty of a garden in a cold and implacable world shared for the first time the intimate vampire act of love. They share their blood and Damon knew they had sealed their lives together.

They belonged to each other. And he; the vampire who didn't do any type of feelings and emotions. The vampire who for many years did and took what he wanted from everyone was okay with this change in his eternal life. He was naively happy with it

He was okay to be part of something. For the first time in his long life, he was part of something that was completely his.

"Damon?"

He nuzzled her neck and kiss his bite marks on her soft skin.

"I'm fine, Redbird."

"Are you?"

"Yes, I finally found it."

"What did you find?"

He looked at her. Her eyes were open like he always requested from her. He didn't care that she was blind, he didn't care that she was the total opposite of what he looked for in a woman. He didn't care of what others might think.

"I found my home, Redbird."

"Your home?"

Her voice hinted him that she didn't grasp what he wanted to say. He kissed her.

"I love you, Redbird."

A sincere and full smile graced her features. He was surprised because she didn't cry. She was honestly happy and she reminded him the joy he felt earlier.

"I love you too, Damon."

She kissed him softly. She caressed gently his face. With her hands she studied his face.

"Damon?

He kept silent waiting for her to say what she needed to express.

"You're my home too."

**~._.~Fin~._.~**

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**A/N:** Well I hope you like this. If you take some seconds of your time and write me something I will appreciate it. With feedback is the only way to know if what I wrote is worthy enough to be read.

Thank you for reading I hope you liked it.


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